Employee morale is a huge part of keeping your business running smoothly. And while it’s difficult to keep track of something that’s not exactly quantifiable, it’s in your company’s best interest to rally your employees’ spirits up. But how do you keep workforce morale up without increasing costs or being perceived as demanding? Here are four tips to do just that:
Make Them Believe in the Company
Your employees won’t be performing at their best if they view your company as nothing more than a source of income. You need to show them that it’s not just a job, and that they play a vital role in a worthwhile cause. Give them a reason to care about the brand and the company’s growth by strongly identifying and stating its core values, mission, and vision. Explain how your products or services are helping people around the world and how your employees are playing a part in bridging supply and demand.
Celebrate Milestones
When a big project finishes, take the time to celebrate it with your teams and departments. As a business owner, the knee-jerk reaction would be to immediately focus on what’s next. Taking the time to reflect on both the individual and group accomplishments that your workforce achieved will instill a sense of satisfaction, pride, and self-confidence that they’ll need to overcome the challenges ahead.
Have a Holistic Approach
It’s not enough to keep handing out cash rewards every time your employee does something. Finances are a critical component of any healthy company, but it tends to neglect other aspects of your workforce, such as its mental and emotional health. Consider holistic techniques for your company to improve not only the physical and psychological state of your employees but also to correct and improve their emotional disposition. Figuring out where they are struggling and customizing your approach to those struggles is incredibly effective in solving problems in other areas.
Give them a Chance to Pursue Their Interests
Encouraging employee growth through training programs and seminars can help bolster employee morale and business profits. If you grant employees time off so they can pursue projects that they are genuinely interested in and delegate tasks that they are passionate about, you can help encourage them to do more work even after the clock hits 5 PM.
Keeping employee morale up is a responsibility that falls in your lap as a business owner or manager. By implementing the four steps above, you can drive results without increasing costs or having to become a tyrant of a boss. And while it can cost you some money and manpower in the short-term, the long-term impact easily offsets the expenses. Employees that feel valued perform so much better than the average person.
References: https://blog.mycorporation.com/2017/04/3-common-management-styles-can-destroy-employee-morale/ http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/masters-learning-and-organizational-change/knowledge-lens/stories/2016/the-power-of-purpose-how-organizations-are-making-work-more-meaningful.html https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/273004 https://www.healerslibrary.com/chakra-test/ https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/topics/talent/worker-passion-employee-behavior.html